To send content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about sending content to .

To send content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about sending to your Kindle.

Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services
Please confirm that you accept the terms of use.

As part of further investigations into three linked haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) cases in Wales and England, 21 rats from a breeding colony in Cherwell, and three rats from a household in Cheltenham were screened for hantavirus. Hantavirus RNA was detected in either the lungs and/or kidney of 17/21 (81%) of the Cherwell rats tested, higher than previously detected by blood testing alone (7/21, 33%), and in the kidneys of all three Cheltenham rats. The partial L gene sequences obtained from 10 of the Cherwell rats and the three Cheltenham rats were identical to each other and the previously reported UK Cherwell strain. Seoul hantavirus (SEOV) RNA was detected in the heart, kidney, lung, salivary gland and spleen (but not in the liver) of an individual rat from the Cherwell colony suspected of being the source of SEOV. Serum from 20/20 of the Cherwell rats and two associated HFRS cases had high levels of SEOV-specific antibodies (by virus neutralisation). The high prevalence of SEOV in both sites and the moderately severe disease in the pet rat owners suggest that SEOV in pet rats poses a greater public health risk than previously considered.

The aim of this study was to examine cross-sectionally whether higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) might favorably modify amyloid-β (Aβ)-related decrements in cognition in a cohort of late-middle-aged adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Sixty-nine enrollees in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention participated in this study. They completed a comprehensive neuropsychological exam, underwent 11C Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB)-PET imaging, and performed a graded treadmill exercise test to volitional exhaustion. Peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) during the exercise test was used as the index of CRF. Forty-five participants also underwent lumbar puncture for collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, from which Aβ42 was immunoassayed. Covariate-adjusted regression analyses were used to test whether the association between Aβ and cognition was modified by CRF. There were significant VO2peak*PiB-PET interactions for Immediate Memory (p=.041) and Verbal Learning & Memory (p=.025). There were also significant VO2peak*CSF Aβ42 interactions for Immediate Memory (p<.001) and Verbal Learning & Memory (p<.001). Specifically, in the context of high Aβ burden, that is, increased PiB-PET binding or reduced CSF Aβ42, individuals with higher CRF exhibited significantly better cognition compared with individuals with lower CRF. In a late-middle-aged, at-risk cohort, higher CRF is associated with a diminution of Aβ-related effects on cognition. These findings suggest that exercise might play an important role in the prevention of AD. (JINS, 2015, 21, 841–850)

An increased mortality risk associated with mental disorder has been reported for patients, but there are few studies are based on random samples with interview-based psychiatric diagnoses. Part of the increased mortality for those with mental disorder may be attributable to worse somatic health or hazardous health behaviour – consequences of the disorder – but somatic health information is commonly lacking in psychiatric samples. This study aims to examine long-term mortality risk for psychiatric diagnoses in a general population sample and to assess mediation by somatic ill health and hazardous health behaviour.

Method.

We used a double-phase stratified random sample of individuals aged 18–65 in Stockholm County 1970–1971 linked to vital records. First phase sample was 32 186 individuals screened with postal questionnaire and second phase was 1896 individuals (920 men and 976 women) that participated in a full-day examination (participation rate 88%). Baseline examination included both a semi-structured interview with a psychiatrist, with mental disorders set according to the 8th version of the International Classification of Disease (ICD-8), and clinical somatic examination, including measures of body composition (BMI), hypertension, fasting blood glucose, pulmonary function and self-reported tobacco smoking. Information on vital status was obtained from the Total Population Register for the years 1970–2011. Associations with mortality were studied with Cox proportional hazard analyses.

This study confirms the increased risk of mortality for several psychiatric diagnoses in follow-up studies on American, Finnish and Swedish population-based samples. Only a small part of the increased mortality hazard was attributable to differences in somatic health or hazardous health behaviour measured at baseline.

A dietary survey was performed during a large screening study in Sweden among 13-year-old adolescents. The aim was to study how the intake of food groups was affected by a screening-detected diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD) and its gluten-free (GF) treatment. Food intake was reported using a FFQ, and intake reported by the adolescents who were diagnosed with CD was compared with the intake of two same-aged referent groups: (i) adolescents diagnosed with CD prior to screening; and (ii) adolescents without CD. The food intake groups were measured at baseline before the screening-detected cases were aware of their CD, and 12–18 months later. The results showed that food intakes were affected by screen-detected CD and its dietary treatment. Many flour-based foods were reduced such as pizza, fish fingers and pastries. The results also indicated that bread intake was lower before the screened diagnosis compared with the other studied groups, but increased afterwards. Specially manufactured GF products (for example, pasta and bread) were frequently used in the screened CD group after changing to a GF diet. The present results suggest that changing to a GF diet reduces the intake of some popular foods, and the ingredients on the plate are altered, but this do not necessarily include a change of food groups. The availability of manufactured GF replacement products makes it possible for adolescents to keep many of their old food habits when diagnosed with CD in Sweden.

Significant mortalities of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, have been reported worldwide since the 1950s. The impact these re-occurring mortality events have had on the C. gigas industry has highlighted the necessity to determine the factors that may be causing these mortalities. This study investigated the possible role of ostreid herpes virus (OsHV-1) in C. gigas mortalities over 2 successive summers at 2 study areas in Ireland. A single sample of adult C. gigas, which had been experiencing mortalities at one of the sites was screened. Successive cohorts of C. gigas spat obtained from a hatchery outside Ireland was relayed to both sites in 2003 and in 2004. Spat were screened each year prior to relaying. Samples were collected every 2 weeks and mortality counts were recorded and observed at both sites. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis and subsequent sequencing indicated that a previously undocumented variant genotype of OsHV-1 was present in the single cohort of adult C. gigas and in seed and juveniles at both sites, in both years. Analysis suggests that the Irish OsHV-1 μvar variant genotype is closely related to OsHV-1 μvar, first described in France in 2008.

We have observed electroluminescence from 4H-SiC Ni-Schottky diodes on 1015cm−3 nitrogen doped n-type epilayers. A high barrier Schottky contact will form an inversion layer close to it. This creates minority carriers that can be injected into the epi and recombine to emit light. The spectral composition and its temperature dependence have been investigated from liquid He temperatures to room temperature. Band edge luminescence, Al related luminescence and DI bound exciton have been observed. To study the electroluminescence from Schottky diodes provides an easy and additional technique for defect characterization of epitaxial layers.

An intrinsic defect spectrum, commonly observed after ion-implantation, electron, proton or neutron irradiation and even after SIMS measurements is investigated using photoluminescence techniques. The spectrum is associated with carbon related isoelec-tronic centers having a pseudodonor like behaviour. Vacancy-interstitial pair complexes are tentatively suggested as the defect centers responsible for this intrinsic spectrum.

In order to study the dependence of the atomic fine structure and optical band gap of the amorphous alloy on concentration and annealing temperature, thin Si1−XBX alloy films were grown and then annealed at temperatures from 400 to 1050 °C. The films were characterized by Extended Energy Loss Fine Structure spectroscopy (EXELFS), High Resolution transmission Electron Microscopy (HREM), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), and light absorption spectro-photometry. It is shown that all the amorphous Si1−XBX alloys are thermally stable (e.g., >1050 °C for x=0.6) as compared to a-Si, and that the optical band gap of the alloys increases gradually with annealing temperatures up to 700 – 900 °C. When annealed at higher temperatures the band gap increased rapidly, corresponding to a phase transformation between two amorphous phases.

The expansion of the European Union during the last 2 yr has resulted in the need for a revision of existing guidelines to further harmonize education and training in the specialty of anaesthesiology throughout the European Union. Although each individual country is responsible for its own training and certification, these guidelines are intended to reflect minimum criteria for specialist training. It is the opinion of the Section and Board of Anaesthesia that specialist training will need to be for a minimum of 5 yr.

The still ever increasing demand for sedation and/or analgesia for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures puts high pressure on anaesthesia care providers all over Europe. Since the capacity to provide that service by anaesthetists is limited in most European countries, guidelines for non-anaesthetist doctors who want to sedate patients on a high-quality level and especially in a safe way are mandatory. This paper, produced by a working party of the European Board of Anaesthesiology of the European Union of Medical Specialists (EUMS/UEMS), gives direction to those practitioners who feel responsibilities in this area of medicine. Close cooperation with anaesthesiologists seems mandatory to achieve and sustain a high-quality standard for our patients undergoing medical or surgical procedures under sedation.

Awareness of cognitive dysfunction shown by individuals with Mild
Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a condition conferring risk for
Alzheimer's disease (AD), is variable. Anosognosia, or unawareness of
loss of function, is beginning to be recognized as an important clinical
symptom of MCI. However, little is known about the brain substrates
underlying this symptom. We hypothesized that MCI participants'
activation of cortical midline structures (CMS) during self-appraisal
would covary with level of insight into cognitive difficulties (indexed by
a discrepancy score between patient and informant ratings of cognitive
decline in each MCI participant). To address this hypothesis, we first
compared 16 MCI participants and 16 age-matched controls, examining brain
regions showing conjoint or differential BOLD response during
self-appraisal. Second, we used regression to investigate the relationship
between awareness of deficit in MCI and BOLD activity during
self-appraisal, controlling for extent of memory impairment. Between-group
comparisons indicated that MCI participants show subtly attenuated CMS
activity during self-appraisal. Regression analysis revealed a highly
significant relationship between BOLD response during self-appraisal and
self-awareness of deficit in MCI. This finding highlights the level of
anosognosia in MCI as an important predictor of response to self-appraisal
in cortical midline structures, brain regions vulnerable to changes in
early AD. (JINS, 2007, 13, 450–461.)

Resident and transient Escherichia coli strains were identified
in the rectal flora of 22 Pakistani
infants followed from birth to 6 months of age. All strains were tested
for O-antigen
expression, adhesin specificity (P fimbriae, other mannose-resistant adhesins
or type 1 fimbriae)
and adherence to the colonic cell line HT-29. Resident strains displayed
higher mannose-
resistant adherence to HT-29 cells, and expressed P fimbriae (P=0·0036)
as well as other
mannose-resistant adhesins (P=0·012) more often than transient
strains. In strains acquired
during the first month of life, P fimbriae were 12 times more frequent
in resident than in
transient strains (P=0·0006). The O-antigen distribution
did not differ between resident and
transient strains, and none of the resident P-fimbriated strains belonged
to previously
recognized uropathogenic clones. The results suggest that adhesins mediating
adherence to
intestinal epithelial cells, especially P fimbriae, enhance the persistence
of E. coli in the large
intestine of infants.

Recommend this

Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this to your organisation's collection.